Chapter 58
◎Two chapters in one◎
The King of Wei died in his prime, but his death was not very dignified. He was killed by robbers. His death instantly made the entire Wei area leaderless. After Li Cheng occupied Yuzhou, he heard the news and left Guo Zhao, the General of Jianwei, behind, and prepared to go to Jianye. But when he was about to leave, he said to his confidant beside him: "You take two teams of people and pick up the princess. I will wait for her at the ferry."
But Huiyin had just sent away the three members of the Yin family who had hurried back to attend the funeral. The official ship was not that fast, so a merchant ship was requisitioned for them. The three men left in a hurry without saying anything.
She had just taken a break and was thinking about writing a letter to ask Li Cheng what to do. Logically, she should go over, but things were different now. She had to listen to Li Cheng's instructions, but she also had to prepare the funeral.
Besides, when the King of Wei left, Xie Jiuyi was still fighting on the front line. Would he retreat? These questions also made her think a lot.
Unexpectedly, Li Cheng sent someone to take her there. Huiyin had someone hurriedly take her two sons away, and left in plain clothes without even having time to prepare the luggage.
The eldest son Jing'er is fine, he has always been in good health. But the youngest son is only a few months old and is still in swaddling clothes, so he needs to be paid more attention.
After only two hours' drive, they met Li Cheng. Before the couple had time to express their sadness of separation, Li Cheng pulled her into the house to talk.
"Uncle Wei has passed away. Do you know about this?"
Huiyin nodded, "At dawn today, the three members of the Yin family went back to attend the funeral. They didn't even have time to have a cup of hot tea or a meal. How could I not know?"
Li Cheng certainly had advisers to discuss things with, but those advisers and subordinates also had their own little thoughts. Most of them were afraid of taking responsibility or instigating him to fight for power. He and Huiyin were a couple, and his wife was not an ignorant woman, but had always been knowledgeable, so he wanted to discuss things with Huiyin first.
Therefore, he said directly without beating around the bush: "You know that Uncle King Wei has treated me well over the years. I cannot refuse this favor." Although he brought his troops to surrender, he was too young and had no idea what to do. However, when he attacked Xuzhou, the money and food were all given by the King of Wei.
Huiyin nodded: "That's what I said, too. You are his nephew. Now that he has passed away, the court is too busy to take care of itself and can no longer be relied upon. The two sons of the King of Wei are still young, so you have to take care of them."
"That's not what I want to say. It's easy to deal with funerals. I've dealt with funerals for my parents several times. What I think is that although my uncle, the Prince of Wei, has not treated me badly, he has not been very good to me. All the good and fertile lands were given to the concubine's family, and even the Huo, Yin and Xu families have high positions and generous salaries. I know Xie Jiuyi, he is the most loyal person. I'm afraid that after my uncle passes away, he will follow our example and be loyal to Li Jing, but I don't want that." Li Cheng was in a conflicted mood.
Huiyin understood immediately. In fact, if it was Zheng Fang, he would probably just take advantage of the situation, regardless of whether he was his nephew or not, without thinking about the consequences. He would think ahead and not care about the consequences. It was precisely because Li Cheng had ambitions that he did not want to be too aggressive in this matter.
But it's a good thing after all. Huiyin smiled and said, "If you ask me, you don't want to submit to Li Cheng, then that's fine. If we confront each other head-on now, it will help others unite. Xie Jiuyi loves to serve Li Jing as his lord, and you can just establish your own family. Without the King of Wei, you now have Yuzhou, Xuzhou, and the south of Qingzhou. so naturally people will come to you."
She understood what Li Cheng meant. Li Cheng did not want to occupy it directly. Firstly, it would be ungrateful to the old subordinates of King Wei, and people all over the world would laugh at him. Secondly, Li Cheng had just taken over Yuzhou after all, and the soldiers had just finished fighting. If he clashed with the old subordinates of King Wei again, he might lose his wife and his soldiers.
In this case, it is better not to participate at all.
However, it is clear that Li Cheng is not that noble: "My father passed away when I was only years thirteen old. My uncle the King of Wei said he would take over the land for me. Now that he is dead, it is time for my father's fief to be taken back."
Huiyin praised: "Okay."
After he had discussed it with Huiyin, he went out to discuss it with the counselors, insisting that he was only going there to attend the funeral and that they were not allowed to cause unrest or be provoked by others to cause trouble. However, his subordinates praised him for being kind and righteous.
Li Cheng did not want a reputation of benevolence and righteousness. He just wanted to accumulate his strength step by step and occupy his own territory.
The speedboat they took reached Jianye in two days. Huiyin first had Jing'er and Zhan'er taken back to the palace. Li Cheng was worried that his sons might be held hostage, so he sent one team of elite soldiers to go back quietly, one team in the open and one team in secret.
It is also said that the once glorious Prince Wei's Palace was still filled with carriages and horses outside, but the shiny red gate was hung with colorful white banners. People looked good outside, but once they entered the gate, they could hear mournful sounds one after another.
The one who came to pick up Li Cheng and Huiyin was the maidservant beside Princess Wei. The old maid wiped her tears and said, "When the prince leaves, the whole family will be left alone. We all rely on the young prince."
Huiyin thought to herself, you guys are really good at calculating. You're leaving the difficult things to Li Cheng, and letting him offend people. That's not enough. Li Cheng just listened and agreed very well, but asked carefully: "Now that the body of Uncle Wei has just been sent back? What are you going to do, auntie?"
Sure enough, the nanny said, "Our Princess Wei is at a loss. The prince died suddenly and at a young age. The coffin was sent by the Huo family. The old uncle of the Guo family also helped with the welcoming and seeing off. But you are the backbone, and we have to listen to you."
Li Cheng sighed slightly.
It was also said that Li Cheng cried so hard that he prostrated himself on the ground in front of the mourning hall. Huiyin did not expect him to be so emotional. She thought she could cry quite well. Every time she thought of some sad things, her eyes would turn red. Dadouer's tears flowed down, but today she was lucky to have met a husband who was both a good singer and a good reciter.
Li Cheng was not like Huiyin who was shedding a few tears and wiping them with a handkerchief. He was really crying and saying, "My dear Uncle Wang, you left in such a hurry that you didn't let me, your nephew, see you. When you were alive, you were so good to me. Now you are left with your aunt, brothers and a whole family. You should not have left so hastily on the bridge..."
Huiyin's face turned slightly red when she heard this. She looked up and glanced at the Princess of Wei and the two concubines. The Princess of Wei just kept burning incense in front of the coffin. In any funeral, the incense in front of the coffin must not stop. Concubine Yin held Li Jing tightly in her hand. On the other side, Concubine Xu was really sad. paper. A person who was so clean on weekdays actually didn't care about many things.
The King of Wei had a son who was about one or two years old and still ignorant. Because of a gust of wind, his wet nurse hurriedly took the son away.
Huiyin thought that Li Cheng was actually dead in her previous life. If she were in his shoes, how sad would she be if her husband died, and he was such a good husband to her? Even if she was not smart and could not do it, Li Cheng would respect her and consummate the marriage with her even if he was injured. Thinking of this, she was also sad and cried.
Her crying confused Li Cheng. You know, the number of times his wife had met the King of Wei could be counted on one hand. She cried so sadly that people who didn't know would think he was dead.
Before Li Cheng and his wife came in, the mourning hall had already calmed down for a while. The wives and concubines of the King of Wei were sad, but they were mostly worried about their own futures. What would they do if their husbands died? Those who had sons, such as Yin Lifang, still had hope, but the other concubines were just there to show up.
Now that Li Cheng and his wife were in mourning, they were forced to cry miserably in the cold wind.
After Li Cheng finished crying, he talked to Princess Wei for a while: "Auntie, now that my uncle has passed away, have you reported it to the court? Where is the chief historian?"
He was the only one present who could ask this question. Although the King of Wei was closer to the Guo and Huo families, he was the only one who was a member of the royal family and a prince, so he had the highest status here.
Princess Wei was also from a rich family, so she understood all this. When Li Cheng asked, she said, "We have asked the chief secretary to write a memorial, but with war raging everywhere, how can we send it to the capital?"
In fact, she felt that it didn't matter whether she sent it or not. Would the Ministry of Rites send someone to inquire about it? So she just said it in an official manner.
Li Cheng said, "I came all the way from Yuzhou without stopping, hoping to help you, but now that you have arranged everything properly, I am relieved. But since we are here, your niece and I will take care of the place today, and you can take everyone to rest."
His words were very appropriate. Seeing that he was usually so handsome, his beard was unshaven and his hair was messy, he looked really exhausted. She wiped her tears and said, "Now that your uncle is gone, we are like a cage without a horse. We are all very worried."
Li Cheng did not respond at this time. Huiyin, who was listening, had to come out to comfort him, "Uncle Wang has a successor, so Auntie, there is nothing to worry about. In the past, King Wuling of Zhao inherited the throne at a young age and achieved great things."
Li Cheng wanted to laugh when he heard this. King Zhao Wuling had already brought out his talents. He knew that Li Jing was a delicate and sensitive child. Although he was studious and sensible, he did not have such courage.
If he didn't have a son, he would have to take things step by step. Assisting Li Jing would be a good option, and it would not be in vain for him to give a generous gift to Concubine Yin. He would first replace Li Jing as a director, and then gradually replace him in the future. This was his original plan.
But now he has already planned to take over Qingzhou and Yongzheng. Jianye is already in his pocket, so why should he rely on others to take it?
When Princess Wei heard Huiyin's comforting words and saw him and his wife standing together, she thought of the bravery of the King of Wei in the past and the love between her and him, and she shed countless tears.
With Li Cheng here, Princess Wei feels much more relaxed, because with him here, everyone in the Prince Wei's mansion unconsciously lets him make the decisions. Huiyin feels sad, because Princess Wei is obviously the most legitimate person, but because she is a woman, now even everyone in the Prince Wei's mansion is on Li Cheng's side.
The palace sent three cold dishes, four hot dishes and two soups for lunch, one salty and one sweet. Huiyin served a bowl of duck soup to her husband: "You've been busy for a long time since you came here, eat something first."
The two of them had their meal in the guest room. Li Cheng held a spoon but was in no mood to drink the soup because Xie Jiuyi had not returned yet.
Xie Jiuyi didn't come back, but Yin Liyi did. She came back in one piece, and she didn't care to go home, so she came to Yin Lifang's place first. It was Yin Lifang who said that her mother-in-law was worried, so she went back. Old Madam Xie asked her about the matter, and she said that she was lucky, and that she would have good fortune after surviving a disaster, and so on. Seeing that she was still the same as before, Old Madam Xie was relieved.
Afterwards, Yin Liyi went to see her two children again, but found that her daughter called her Aunt Cao all the time. The osmanthus curd she ate was given by Aunt Cao, and the gold-threaded and silver shoes with raised toes on her feet were also given by Aunt Cao.
"When did you become so close to her?" For the first time, Yin Liyi realized that not all daughters love their mothers without gratitude.
Her daughter Fang Jie'er is older than Jing'er. Girls speak earlier. She is three years old now. She just said, "Aunt Cao has always treated me well."
Yin Liyi called her wet nurse to ask about it. The wet nurse had long been bought by Cao with money. In just a few months, the silk in the box was piled high and the money box was full. Now Yin Liyi asked about it, she pretended to blame Cao: "I don't know why, after Cao saved our girl last time, our girl cried and we couldn't comfort her no matter how hard we tried, but she came and comforted her."
"Fang Jie'er wasn't like this before." Yin Liyi was extremely annoyed, but she didn't have the time to discipline her now.
Yes, the nephew's affairs are more important. He has passed away. The King of Wei did not appoint a crown prince before his death. So if there is a legitimate son, the legitimate son will be appointed as the crown prince. If there is no legitimate son, the eldest son will be appointed as the crown prince. This is the rule.
Thinking of this, she asked the wet nurse to look after Fang Jie'er more and went straight to Prince Wei's mansion.
As soon as she left, several old women started chirping behind her.
"This lady doesn't even love her own children, yet she blames others for taking advantage of her."
"Yeah, she's always away from home. I really don't know what she does."
Everyone saw that the wet nurse who was speaking had been very loyal to Yin Liyi before, because she was a refugee and had been rescued by Yin Liyi, and now even she couldn't help but speak out.
Someone nearby was stirring up trouble and said, "Mother Wang, why do you say that about her?"
Mother Wang said, "How could I dare to say anything about her? I was just speaking up for my sister."
The other wet nurses also looked down on Mother Wang, thinking that she must have been bought by Cao's money. They just took the money secretly and did not dare to really do anything for Cao. Yin Liyi was the biological sister of Concubine Yin. This time, the situation in Wei would change. Who could afford to offend her?
When Yin Liyi came over, it was already late. Yin Lifang was drinking hot soup. She was afraid that Concubine Xu would harm her son, so she let her son sleep in her room. When she saw her sister coming over, she was not surprised at all.
"How are Fang Jie'er and Po Ge'er?"
"Don't worry, sister, everything is fine."
Yin Lifang held her sister's hand and said, "You don't know when your husband will come back. I hope he will come back soon. With him and the young prince here, Jing'er will definitely be crowned king in a legitimate way."
The two sisters talked a lot about private matters.
That night, the mourning hall was drafty on all sides, so Princess Wei had two leather curtains hung to block the wind. Li Cheng and Huiyin sat on a cushion beside the mourning hall to keep watch.
Huiyin ate Boxiagong again in the evening and was complaining to Li Cheng: "I love Boxiagong Gugutang, but it makes me prone to acne. Look at me, a pimple popped up on my forehead right away."
"It's mainly because you don't like to move and prefer to lie down. You see, I used to like growing taller, too, but now I'm much better." Li Cheng was willing to say some childish words to her.
Huiyin rolled her eyes at him and said, "You always say that I like to lie down, but I really get backaches easily! And when you're not at home, I always feel like someone is sitting by my bed. Now that you're here, I'm not afraid at all even in the mourning hall."
Even though his wife scolded him, Li Cheng was not annoyed at all. Having someone by his side to keep vigil here was better than anything else.
That night, they stayed together as husband and wife, and only said goodbye to Princess Wei the next morning and returned to the Prince's Mansion in Jianye. Princess Wu was not as sad as Huiyin imagined, and she even said to Li Cheng: "It's not a good thing for your uncle, the Prince of Wei, to leave behind an orphan and a widow. Now the Emperor can't take care of it, so you should take care of it."
Li Cheng shook his head and said, "Grandmother, the brothers of the Guo family are guarding the important roads with their troops. The officials before the King of Wei were all local nobles. It seems that these people have begun to guard against me."
Concubine Wu sneered: "What does this have to do with them? The King of Wei has passed away, and his son is still so young. How can he manage the fiefdom? After all, the world still belongs to the Li family."
"Then Sun'er can't take advantage of others' misfortune." Li Cheng said it several times until he believed it.
Concubine Wu sighed: "You are just too kind."
She was so open with her heart to Li Cheng, but she was not so polite to Huiyin: "I heard that your kid cried all night, why don't you go back to see him?"
When Huiyin heard Zhan'er crying, she hurried over to see him. Fortunately, it was because the wet nurse caught a cold and the child was not feeling well after drinking her milk. She asked the wet nurse to go downstairs to get treated and come back after she recovered. She also checked the other wet nurses and asked the doctor to feel their pulses one by one. She was relieved to see that they were all fine.
She tapped her son's nose and said, "You almost scared me to death."
So, she rested in Zhan'er's ear room for a while, and only returned to her room after seeing that Zhan'er's forehead was not hot and he was feeding normally.
How should I put it? If you don't have a child, that's fine, but if you do, you must be responsible for the child.
When she came back, Li Cheng had already gone to bed and was sleeping soundly, holding her personal sweat towel in his hand. She pulled the quilt together for him and went back to sleep.
But after this day, they only need to go early and return late. They don't have to go every day. Li Cheng wants to bury the body after the seventh day. After the first seven days, Huiyin doesn't have to go to the Prince of Wei's mansion every day. Concubine Wu has been there once. She is an old person and is most afraid of death.
The old people were unexpectedly calm. Although Concubine Wei was sad, she was in good health. It was Jianjia who fell ill. Huiyin sent someone to visit her and brought her a few dishes of her favorite snacks.
When Nan's mother came back, she said, "The eldest princess is very sad. I don't know if the Wei family will send someone over."
Huiyin smiled and said, "They are probably still waiting and watching. The meaning of the marriage is to unite the two sides. Obviously, with the King of Wei gone, the situation is unclear."
"It's only because our prince is kind-hearted that the wine and drinks given to us during the funeral at Prince Wei's Mansion this time were so poor even a servant like me felt that the feast was poor." Nan's mother sighed.
Now it's not that Li Cheng is benevolent, but his troops have to be divided in Yuzhou. The people of Xuzhou and Qingzhou have already recruited soldiers once, and their strength is limited. Li Cheng is pragmatic. He just occupied the land and immediately wanted to fight again. He was attacked by the crowd. This is called greed. Just like his father rashly annexed the power in Xizhou Jingzhong, now it has caused a rebellion, and he still retreated to Jizhou, but the troops were injured.
However, the banquet at Prince Wei's Mansion was indeed average. As the saying goes, an expert knows the ins and outs of a restaurant. Huiyin had been a mistress for several years. Although the plates looked big, the dishes were very average and of low quality.
The abalone was too small, the turtle was not fresh, and the braised pork with dried meat was not soft and tasty at all. As he was talking, he saw Li Cheng coming in. He said, "Xie Jiuyi occupied Nanjun and hurried back to mourn."
"July 7th is coming soon, it's just right for him to come back now." Huiyin said.
This Xie Jiuyi is indeed quite capable. He was previously harmed by Li Heng's poisoned arrow. Later, I heard that Li Heng also shot a poisoned arrow. I don't know if it was Li Heng who did it.
Xie Jiuyi beat Zhao Hong and others with grief, and the Wei family also sent people to offer condolences. At this time, Li Cheng came with Huiyin. Xu Cifei's brother, Ren Lieutenant General, was making a passionate speech: "The King of Wei once mentioned to me that he wanted to make my second brother the crown prince. This is the handwriting of the King of Wei. You can take a look."
Concubine Xu had cried bitterly before, and everyone thought that she was crying so sadly because her backer had fallen. Some servants even came to laugh at her. No one thought that the King of Wei would actually keep this in mind.
Women rarely have a say in such situations. Even the Princess of Wei, who prefers Li Jing, the son of the Second Concubine Yin, has to let it go. At most, she can say a few words when Xie Jiuyi asks.
Huiyin looked at Concubine Yin's slightly pale face, she lowered her head and took a sip of tea.
Yin Lifang was afraid that she would lose her balance, so she tried to keep steady. She also heard Xie Jiuyi say outside: "Since ancient times, the eldest son is the heir, and the eldest prince is the eldest son. He should inherit the title."
After all, Xie Jiuyi felt that Li Cheng would be able to help, and took the initiative to ask, "Little Prince, what do you think?"
Yin Lifang breathed a sigh of relief when she heard that it was Li Cheng who answered.
Unexpectedly, Li Cheng said, "My brothers are all my cousins. I have no opinion on whether the eldest son inherits the title or who the uncle prefers. Just like what General Xie said, it is in accordance with the patriarchal law to establish the eldest son as the heir. But now I am in charge of the entire Wei area on behalf of the uncle of Wei, so I think I should choose the wise one."
After he said this, Concubine Xu Ci's eyes lit up.
After this round of discussion, of course, there was no result, so Yin Lifang found an opportunity to look for Li Cheng. This was also arranged by the Princess of Wei. She certainly hoped that Li Jing would be the next King of Wei. Concubine Xu had been with her as the Princess before, and the Yin family had no one to rely on, so they had to rely on the Huo and Xie families.
Li Cheng originally thought that it was the Princess of Wei who came to talk about the burial of the Prince of Wei's uncle after the 49th day of mourning. During these days, he had chosen a Feng Shui treasure land for the Prince of Wei, and spent a lot of money to relocate the people around him. Of course, he had to ask the Princess of Wei for this money, but he didn't expect Yin Lifang to come in.
When Yin Lifang saw him, her eyes were filled with tears: "My dear little prince, I am honored to see you."
"No need, no need. According to seniority, you are my aunt. I came here to look for the princess' aunt. Since she is not here, I will leave." Li Cheng did not want to stay with a newly widowed woman. The Princess of Wei was the mistress, and the two of them had serious business to attend to, so he had nothing to discuss with her.
Yin Lifang would never let him go. She knew he was trying to avoid suspicion, but she still said, "I'll just say one thing, and then you can leave."
Li Cheng glanced at her and raised two fingers: "You've said a few words, I'm leaving."
It's not that he is cruel. Everything has its cause and effect, so why bother holding on to it?
Seeing that he was in a hurry to leave, Yin Lifang hurried forward and prepared to talk behind closed doors.
…
Concubine Xu was leading Huiyin over. She was deliberately pretending to let Huiyin see Li Cheng and Yin Lifang having a tryst. She secretly said, "She pretends to be a saint, but she is actually a little slut."
Unexpectedly, as they approached, they heard a man and a woman arguing, and it was a very intense argument. Xu Cifei was dumbfounded.
When Huiyin heard the man's voice, she thought to herself that something was wrong. Li Cheng might have his old illness again, so she had to hurry over.
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